The SOT Public Communications Award is presented to recognize an individual who has made a major contribution to broadening the general public’s awareness of toxicological issues, including public understanding of the role and importance of experimental animals in toxicological science, through any aspect of public communications, over a significant period of time.
Paloma I. Beamer, PhD, is recognized with the 2026 SOT Public Communications Award for her sustained, community-centered communication and outreach on environmental exposures and health, with particular impact in communities that are historically underserved and disproportionately affected by environmental contamination.
Dr. Beamer earned her BS from the University of California Berkeley and her MS and PhD from Stanford University, all in civil and environmental engineering, before joining the University of Arizona faculty in 2007. She advanced through the ranks to Professor and currently serves as Associate Dean for Community Engagement in the Zukerman College of Public Health. She is also the Director of the Community Engagement Core of the NIEHS-funded Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center, where she helps translate exposure science into practical, community-informed resources and action.
A defining feature of Dr. Beamer’s public communications is her ability to build sustained partnerships and maintain two-way engagement with communities, including Tribal entities and local health advocates, ensuring that scientific findings are communicated in ways that support informed public health decision-making. Her communications and outreach have included extensive local community presentations and teach-ins, as well as public-facing technical reports and fact sheets designed to support community decision-making.
Dr. Beamer’s rapid-response communications during environmental emergencies further exemplify the public value of her work. Following the 2015 Gold King Mine incident, when US Environmental Protection Agency contractors released three million gallons of acid mine drainage into the Animas River, affecting the San Juan River through the Navajo Nation, she conducted culturally appropriate exposure and risk assessments and helped communicate the results back to the affected communities. Her assessments identified limitations in traditional exposure scenarios and found estimated exposure doses over a billion times higher than previously assessed, reshaping how exposure assessment and community engagement were approached in this context.
In addition to her communications leadership, Dr. Beamer’s commitment to mentoring strengthens the public health workforce pipeline. Her dedication to supporting trainees, particularly those from underrepresented and first-generation backgrounds, has been recognized with university-level mentoring and community-engagement awards, reflecting an integrated approach to scholarship, communication, and service that aligns closely with the intent of the SOT Public Communications Award.
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